Vicente Solano Arrested For Trying To Detonate Bomb At Miami's Dolphin Mall

On Monday, October 23, 53-year-old Vicente Solano appeared before a federal court in Miami, after being arrested for attempting to blow up a bomb at the Dolphin Mall. Before the unsuccessful attack, the Miami man made pro-Islamic State videos wearing all black and standing by an ISIS flag, in which he said, “The racist president who is a supremacist — white, who does not like Blacks, does not like the Chinese, he does not like the Muslims, he doesn’t like the Hispanics. He does not like anybody. They are indeed murderers, genocidists, invaders of this country who came to this country to kill all of the Natives. They abolished them, and now they’re telling us to get out of here. They are the ones who have to leave. (Expletive) that. In the name of Allah and our leader, Abu, we are going to defeat you.”

According to the police report, Solano would have been inspired by ISIS to commit the crime, but there is no evidence that he was directed by the terrorists himself or that he had a direct connection with them.

The Miami Herald informed that Solano planned to detonate the weapons of mass destruction (WMD), which was a sham bomb that has been since acquired by FBI undercover agents. The man was communicating with the confidential informants of the Terrorism Task Force.

According to national policy, WMD refers to materials, weapons, or devices that are intended to cause (or are capable of causing) death or serious bodily injury to a significant number of people through release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals or precursors, a disease organism, or radiation or radioactivity, including (but not limited to) biological devices, chemical devices, improvised nuclear devices, radiological dispersion devices, and radiological exposure devices.

7 News Miami reported that Solano intended to target the mall on Black Friday, however, the plan was moved up to Friday, Oct. 20. Investigators said Solano had begun mapping out his terror plot in late September, and that he expressed anger over foreign and domestic policies that made him feel excluded because of his temporary immigration status.

Solano told judge Chris McAliley he works as a painter earning $13 an hour. If convicted, Solano could face a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine, and he remains in custody and is scheduled to have an arraignment on November 6.

According to the FBI the Joint Terrorism Task Forces, or JTTFs, chase down leads, gather evidence, make arrests, and respond to threats and incidents at a moment’s notice. The task forces are based in 104 cities nationwide, and a total of 71 of these JTTFs have been created since 9/11.